WASHINGTON — More than three-quarters of Colorado Republicans back a minimum 13-year path to citizenship for people living in the U.S. without legal permission if they learn English, pass a criminal background check and pay taxes and fees, according to a recent poll.

This sentiment diverges from the beliefs of three of the four Colorado Republicans in the Congressional delegation who remain noncommittal about a path to citizenship for the roughly 11 to 12 million people currently living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Presented with the poll's findings Friday, those Republicans — Reps. Scott Tipton, Cory Gardner and Doug Lamborn — said they instead want to focus on border security and a guest- worker program before tackling plans for a path to citizenship.

Aurora GOP Rep. Mike Coffman, who admits he has evolved his position on immigration because of his new district, says he believes in comprehensive immigration reform. But only after there is an independently verified secure border would he support allowing 11 million individuals living in the country without legal permission to apply for permanent legal status from a temporary status.

Coffman says he believes they should eventually be able to apply for citizenship.

The poll found 63 percent of Colorado Democrats say they believed in the 13-year path to citizenship, and among unaffiliated voters the number was 70 percent.

The poll, paid for by three Republican interest groups including Republicans for Immigration Reform, surveyed voters in 12 battleground states, including Colorado.

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The effort is an attempt to sway Congressional Republicans to take up a comprehensive immigration reform bill. The same interest groups brought groups of business leaders to Washington last week to lobby Republicans on Capitol Hill.

Nationally, 52 percent of those voters polled said they would be more likely to support an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform.

Representative Doug Lamborn, a Republican from Colorado, chairs a House Natural Resources Committee hearing on rare earths legislation in Washington, D.C., U.S., on Friday, June 3, 2011. Global demand for rare earths will increase at a rate of 8 percent a year from use of the minerals in computers and cars, the U.S. Geological Survey said during the hearing. Photographer: Andrew Harrer/Bloomberg *** Local Caption *** Doug Lamborn (Bloomberg | Andrew Harrer)

In Colorado, 46 percent of Republicans and 60 percent of Democrats are more likely to support an elected official who supports comprehensive immigration reform. Twenty-one percent of Republicans said they were "less likely" to vote for someone who supports immigration reform.

The Colorado survey was an automated telephone survey on Oct. 19- 21 among 500 likely voters. The margin of error was plus or minus 4.4 percent.

Tipton, R-Cortez, would not say how he felt about a path to citizenship, but he has said in the past that he "will not support amnesty," but believes in a "compassionate" approach to DREAMers — young people brought to the country illegally when they were children by their parents.

Republican candidate for Colorado's third congressional district, Scott Tipton makes a point during a debate with U.S. Rep. John Salazar, D-Colo., left, Thursday night, Oct. 14, 2010, at Pueblo Community College in Pueblo, Colo. (FR37341 AP | Chuck Bigger)

He declined to clarify what he means by "compassionate."

Tipton says he wants to create a guest-worker program for the people living in the U.S. without legal permission.

Gardner, R-Yuma, is also noncommittal about whether he supports a path to citizenship, saying he favors a rigorous guest-worker program and strengthened, independently verified border security.

Gardner says he wants those two things in place before starting a conversation about whether there should be a path to citizenship for both DREAMers and adults living in the U.S. illegally.

"I urged leadership to bring a bill to the floor in July, before Congress went on its summer work period, to show the American people that we are serious about getting this done," he said, in a statement.

That didn't happen, however. GOP House leadership has signaled they will not bring a big plan to the floor for a vote before the end of the year.

Tackling border security first could take years and cost billions of dollars.

The Senate bill, which no Colorado House Republican supports, commits $38 billion on border security — 20,000 new agents, 700 miles of new fencing, expensive technology such as drones and infrared cameras.

Lamborn, a Colorado Springs Republican, favors tackling immigration in a piecemeal approach. He believes in a strengthened border and an improved "temporary" guest-worker program.

"He does not want to reward those who have broken our laws, by allowing them to go to the front of the line to gain citizenship ahead of those who are going through the process legally," Lamborn said through a spokeswoman.